My Mission Experience

Thank you for your patience. It has taken four months, but we finally have some pictures on the blog. You can find it at taylorsinok.blogspot.com. We will probably update it on our preparation day–which is different every week! Please don’t be disappointed if we don’t update it more than once a week. We will be doing really well if we do it every week! We hope you will find some interesting things there about our mission. At least you will get to see what big meetings your missionary attended that week. We love the missionaries and look forward to seeing them as often as possible. We will try to take lots of pictures when we are with them.

We are running as fast as we can here. The missionaries are doing well and baptisms are up. We all love to see people here make sacred covenants with The Lord and receive blessings. Please know how important your love and support are to the missionaries. They LOVE to get “real mail” in addition to email. Please remember to help them stay focused on their purpose here–“inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end” (see Preach My Gospel, page 1). It is easy to get distracted by events outside the mission. Remember to direct them back to their work when you write them. They have such a short time to be a missionary–and their whole life to do “home things.” Thank you for helping them stay focused on their purpose as full-time missionaries. That is when they are the most happy and it is the best gift you can give them.

Speaking of gifts…here are a few thoughts on Christmas gifts. Most of you are not far from Oklahoma. You shouldn’t have too much difficulty getting things here on time. Packages have to go through the office, so try to have things here by December 1. Just be aware that we have a few dates coming up when it would be easy to deliver packages to your Elder or Sister. On November 24 we will be having a transfer. We will take any packages that are in the office to the church for the transfer so that zone leaders can pick them up there and take them back to their areas. We will also be having two multi-zone conferences at the Surrey Hills Chapel (next to the temple) on Dec. 2 and 3. Every Elder and Sister in the mission will be there on one of those days. We will deliver any packages we have to the chapel so they can pick them up and take them home with them. Please remember to send gifts that are not too bulky–they don’t want to haul too much “stuff” around with them every time they are transferred. Please keep in mind as well that this is a unique opportunity for them to have a truly spiritual Christmas with very little “stuff”. Sharing messages about the Savior at Christmas time is a very rewarding experience. They will be content with very few presents on their mission. As well, try to be sensitive to their companion who may not receive much for Christmas. Please remember to send them only things they are allowed to have. When they are obedient to the missionary handbook they are more protected, happy and blessed. As we are sure you have already taught them, obedience brings them more blessings than they can imagine–including great joy.

We have been emphasizing greater obedience to the missionary handbook lately. We have found that many missionaries have gotten casual about some items in the handbook. As they decide to change and try to be completely obedient we have had elders bring us things that are distracting to them and not permitted such as electronics (including iTouches), big elaborate board games, portable hard drives and digital picture frames. Digital picture frames can be used to view downloaded movies as well as those wonderful family pictures, so they have been misused. Any device that has internet capability is not appropriate on a mission–specifically iTouch or other electronics. They are not supposed to listen to rock music either–so iPods with inappropriate music are distracting as well. They are supposed to listen only to music that helps them feel the Spirit. Many missionaries have told us they have gotten rid of CD’s of music that is not approved. Some families have actually shipped saddles, chaps, cowboy boots and lariats to missionaries–inappropriate items that have caused great problems. To better support your missionary we ask you to go to a distribution center, or the on-line distribution center, and get a copy of the little white missionary handbook. We invite you to read it carefully and be aware of the rules your missionary agreed to obey while a full-time missionary. The contents of the white handbook are not commandments to any of you–but they are commandments to full-time missionaries. Look at page four of the handbook for the promises made by the First Presidency to obedient missionaries. The work here is hard. To be successful, our missionaries must rely on The Lord and do His work, His way. As you become more aware of what their rules are we hope you will be able to encourage and support them as they try to be completely obedient. They will receive great blessings from obedience–and you will be thrilled to see them become stronger and more spiritually mature each week.

Young men and women can be transformed by a mission. They have the opportunity to become the people God knows they can be. They learn more about themselves and the Savior. They spend most of their time working selflessly for the salvation of men. They come to understand that their purpose while on a mission is to invite others to come unto Christ by developing faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. They are not the same people you sent on a mission. They are more brave, confident, bold and righteous. We love every one of them and count it an amazing blessing to serve with them. Please enjoy the changes in them and encourage them as they grow and mature. That is one of the greatest blessings parents receive while their child is serving a mission. We appreciate all of you. We appreciate the love and support you give your missionary. We are gratetful for the prepared, confident young men and women you sent out on a mission.

Please contact us if you need to discuss any problems or concerns. You can call Sister Taylor at 405-519-6455, or leave a message for Sister Taylor at the mission home, 405-692-2040. You may email us directly at ntaylor@ldschurch.org. We love your sons and daughters and want to help them and you in any way we can. Thank you again for all you do.

Well, I guess we have come to the end of the road. President Gee and I have been packing up all day in preparation for the movers to come tomorrow. We will be leaving the mission on Tuesday, June 29th. This is what will happen. The Taylors will arrive at around 2 p.m. President Gee and I, along with the assistants will greet them at the airport. We will visit with them for about three hours and then we will be headed for Idaho. They plan on meeting all of the missionaries Wednesday and Thursday. They are excited and prepared to begin their mission. We support them and wish them every blessing.

It has been a delight to communicate with you through e-mails. We have appreciated feeling tied together and hope you have felt the spirit of the mission even more by knowing what is happening here. This has been one of the highlights of our lives. We feel priveleged to have been able to serve the Lord and to get to work with your missionaries. Our hearts are filled with love and admiration for them. We will miss them but we are happy to be able to see our family and friends again. Life is good. The Church of Jesus Christ is again on the earth and it is an honor to help spread the word. May you all be blessed in every way.

I remember chuckling at a Calvin and Hobbs cartoon because it is so descriptive of mortals. Calvin promised to start doing his homework when the minute hand was on twelve. Somehow he missed it and it was one minute past twelve. He concluded he would have to wait until the minute hand got to twelve again before he could start his studies. President Gee and I have been discussing the reality that there is no perfect time to start homework or to do missionary work. In the winter it is too cold and holidays interfere. In the summer it is too hot and people go on vacations. In the spring there are tornadoes and in the fall there is football.

This week the summer heat started in earnest. For some it is absolutely draining to be in the heat. Those on bicycles are earning their bragging rights for the rest of their lives. Today as we were finishing our morning walk I started to think about the movie, “Iron Will.” Will is almost to the finish line of the dog sled race and he collapses. He just can’t make himself go any further. Then we see the people lined up on the side who are cheering and cheering, trying to help him get moving again. Finally he drags himself up and wins the race and lives happily ever after. It is a real “feel good ” movie. Right now would be a great time to be the cheering section on the sidelines for these missionaries. Give it all you’ve got to encourage your missionary to just keep moving. Praise him or her for being such a hero to be doing this work. I will tell you again they live for the e-mails and for real letters that come in the mail that they can open. Thanks to everyone, families and friends, who keep the encouragement coming.

We want to remind you again that we are concerned that the missionaries don’t create a financial burden for their families by asking for extra money. There are enough who make their mission money last that it proves it is possible to live on their missionary support fund. If you have any concerns about this, please feel free to let us know. We could keep if confidential if necessary.

Several missionaries have mentioned that their parents might be interested in attending our mission report and are wondering when it will be. We are scheduled to report on July 11th at 9 a.m. in the Sugar City, Idaho, 4th ward. We meet in the large gray church located on the main road going through Sugar City. We will try to arrange a place where we might visit and have a light lunch after the meeting. We would be delighted to meet anyone who has any interest in attending.

Again we hope you have a great week. We have been so grateful for the well-being of your families as well as that of the missionaries.

Today was Memorial Day. President Gee and I had been vaguely aware of raindrops on the roof for much of the night. He first went to the computer this morning to check the weather. According to the weather map, there were no clouds at all above the nearby park where we do our early morning walks. Even though the sky was full of dark clouds we decided to walk our usual three miles because the computer said we would have no problems. When we arrived we were the only ones in sight, except for one lone walker way behind us. He was smart enough to bring an umbrella. We weren’t. We had only gone a little way when it started to rain. I wished I had brought my rain coat. Before long we were both soaked, including our feet. We probably made a tactical error in coming. We were going to be cold and wet. However, we started to laugh. We did a short rendition of “Singin’ In The Rain” and even purposely splashed in some of the puddles. We decided to go around again since we were already as wet as we could be. It didn’t turn out like we had expected, but now we have a memory that will make us laugh for years to come.

I started to think that this little experience is symbolic of what happens on missions. Companions start each day with a plan of how things should be and usually it ends up being different. Sometimes it is miraculous and sometimes it is just frustrating. No one really plans on getting doors slammed in their faces, or being told their religion is evil. However, these experiences, good or bad give them ammunition for stories for the rest of their lives. It is fun to listen to them chatting about their adventures and misadventures while they are waiting for interviews. Usually there are a lot of chuckles. They build each other up with their stories and probably convince each other that they are all having challenging experiences.

One of the training CD’s we listened to as we were preparing to come on our mission was a talk by Elder Wirthlin. He called it the “Band of Brothers.” I admit that sometimes I drowsed off as I listened to it because I didn’t understand yet what a bond would form among those who serve together in a mission. Even if there are frustrating times we will always be connected because we were “soldiers” together and we will always love that feeling of being together. One of our astute sisters put it this way: “We are battles.” It is a quirky little way of describing the Band of “Brothers “(and sisters.) A lucky few of the missionaries get to go to Fort Sill and help teach the young soldiers who are going through army basic training. Non-members are often brought to church by their member “battle buddies.” After the difficult experiences they go through during the week they find comfort in going to a place where they feel safe and loved. Going to Fort Sill to attend Sacrament Meetings will be a treasured memory for the Gees for the rest of our lives. Those soldiers are so young. Anyway, I have thought many times about missionaries being “battles” and the bonds that will last through eternity.

We treasure the bonds we have with the missionaries and their families, including those who have returned home and those who are still on their missions. We hope they will last forever.

It has been a great week here in the Oklahoma City Mission. The weather is on the verge of being hot, roofers are everywhere in the city repairing hail damage from the last two weeks, flowers are blooming profusely, and the grain is starting to turn to amber. The missionaries are enjoying the favorable weather and the long days. We have reached the point that they pretty much have daylight for all of their work. Life is good.

We had Zone Conferences for the Stillwater, Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma City South Zones this week. Everyone loved going to the temple. There is peace that heals the soul. It is good to see a room full of missionaries in the Celestial Room. I feel like I am surrounded by angels when we are there. There wasn’t a lot of time to do other things but there was time for President Gee and me to begin to say our good-byes. I tried for the first two Zone Conferences and finally decided it is just too hard. I couldn’t say much so I just gave up and told President Gee he has to do it for me at the rest of the Zone Conferences. President Gee talked with them about the natural releases that come with every calling. He expressed appreciation for the support they have given us and encouraged them to get ready to immediately shift their loyalties to President and Sister Taylor. He also explained we will be going home to party with the returned missionaries and all those we are leaving behind are invited to the parties when they get their work done. President and Sister Taylor will be their new “mother and father” but we would like to be their “grandpa and grandma.” This will be the message for the Norman and Lawton zones during this coming week. We look forward to meeting with them on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are in the process of the last round of interviews this week also.

The missionaries are still working hard. We are pleased with the things that are happening in the mission. We love to share the excitement when they find a new investigator or set a baptismal date. We love them for their diligence even if the longed for results aren’t happening at the moment. They are admirable disciples of Christ. We try to remind them that we do our part and leave the results to the Lord.

We pray for you families every day as well as the missionaries. We know your love, support, e-mails, letters and packages keep them going.

I guess this will be news headlines from the Oklahoma City Mission. First about the weather. Last week there were somewhere between thirteen and sixty tornados. I did say a lot was happening at once! There was some bad damage but it was in limited areas. Several of the missionaries have been doing service this week to help with the clean-up. The worst damage was in the Norman, Seminole, and Chocktaw areas. On Sunday we had a pretty intense hail storm in the north of Oklahoma City. One house had all the windows blown out. However, most of us never see any of this action.

We are looking forward to our Zone Conferences this week and next week. Each Zone will be traveling to the church by the temple for their own meetings and also to attend a temple session together. We know this helps us all be unified and gives us more power in the missionary work. This will be the last series of Zone Conferences for the Gees. It feels strange to realize that this mission life we have become so used to is going to end. However, there are still a few weeks left so we will keep enjoying them and count our blessings.

Next I would like to repeat a little tidbit that I mentioned several months ago, because there have been so many new missionaries come since then. We think it is very important that the communication between the missionaries and their families be regular and dependable. Your support means everything to them. The one thing I figured out since being here that I didn’t know when our own children were serving is the reason why this communication has strict bounds to follow. The real reason it is controlled is because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build heavenly communication lines. They need to learn to depend on Heavenly Father. Our job as mortals is to allow this to happen and not interfere with unauthorized communication from home that would distract them. Miracles happen. I promise you. It is worth the sacrifice! Once in a while missionaries still try to communicate with friends or families by breaking the rules. If your missionary ever does this please help them by telling them you want them to be obedient. Facebook is against the rules. No exceptions!

Last I will share one more little miracle from Elders DeWitt and Crawford. They were getting ready to retire for the night. At about 10:20 they received a call from a distraught member. Her grandson, Adrian, had been at her house and had fallen from a second story balcony. He was at the little hospital in critical condition. Would they go to the hospital and give him a blessing? When they arrived they were told only one could go in at a time. They didn’t know if he would live through the night. They were waiting for a life-flight to take him to Norman. Finally someone allowed them to enter his room. They gave him a Priesthood Blessing and left. The next day they checked with the grandmother. Adrian was fine. Tests showed there was nothing wrong with him. (A miracle indeed.)

We love being around these wonderful missionaries. We hope you have a good week.

Just this morning I wondered out loud what I could tell you that would be exciting. It turns out the Oklahoma weather answered the question. In fact, we probably will make the national news on Tuesday. Late this afternoon storms started moving through most of our mission. It gets the heart rate up when the weather people are showing “rotations” on the television. President Gee was true to form with his remote in one hand and the cell phone in the other. There were at least four tornados but probably many more. It was hard to keep track of them because there was so much happening at once. President Gee and I stood in our garage and watched the golf-sized hail popping all over our yard. What you really want to hear is that we did a mission-wide check and all the missionaries are safe and sound. Two of them actually got to see a tornado but they were wise enough to head for shelter.You may see clips on the news. There was a lot of damage and at least one person was killed. However, remember they show the worst and most of us are far from the danger and the damage to homes and businesses is small in comparison to those that are untouched. However, it does make those scriptures about whirlwinds seem more real.

Ecc. 1:6

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

We don’t want to worry you but if you watch the news you will see it anyway so we might as well tell you we are all okay.

We almost had another catastrophe. When I started this e-mail half of the distribution list had disappeared. Fortunately President Gee found it hidden somewhere in the black hole of the computer. He gets the credit for this one.

This isn’t a very inspiring message tonight but it is a grateful one. Once again prayers for the safety of the missionaries were answered yes. I am sure you are grateful as well. We hope you enjoyed your calls yesterday. Have a great week. They certainly fly by quickly.

Love, President and Sister Gee

Via email today, Riley advised that it was an exciting storm, but he didn’t see an actual tornado. He is just a few miles from where there was a tornado that touched down. He says the hail they experienced was about quarter sized. He also told me that everyone around there was running outside to check it out. (That sounds safe ! <sarc>)

At last the long awaited Sunday is just around the corner when you can hear the sweet sound of your missionary’s voice. Now you can ask about the details you wish they would give when they e-mail. I hope you have fun making a list of the things you want to talk about. . . .

I remember how our family looked forward to these calls when our children were serving missions. Our missionaries all have cell phones and will be able to use their own phones rather than member phones since Mother’s Day calls fall under weekend rates. It may be helpful to figure out the timing of the call when you are e-mailing this week. The missionaries are free to find a time that works best for all of you.

Sometimes these calls make the missionaries homesick. President Gee encourages everyone to be upbeat and positive and give encouragement. It probably is not helpful for you to tell them how much you miss them. Rather tell them how happy you are that they are serving the Lord.

Since we are talking about sweet sounds I will share one little experience with you. Most of the time missionaries fly home so the last word we hear from them is good-bye and a promise they will stay in touch. Last week we said good-bye to four wonderful missionaries who have each served with complete devotion. Elder Buys did not fly home because his parents and younger sister came to pick him up. We heard the doorbell ring and stepped aside so Elder Buys could have those first few minutes alone with his family. I was smiling with tears in my eyes as I heard the squeals of delight, over and over, as they said hello again after two years. We usually only imagine the reunion but this was heartwarming indeed. After a few quiet words there were more squeals and giggles and more hugs and kisses. They earned this moment. They waited obediently for two years to have this time to greet a son who had served with all his heart.

The night before there were more sweet sounds. After dinner was eaten and the interviews were complete, we had a short testimony meeting. Each of the four missionaries shared an experience that they will always remember and then bore testimony. These testimonies came from pure hearts. They know they have been doing the work of the Lord and are grateful for the opportunity to serve and for what has happened inside of them as they have served. I felt that surely this must be like heaven. Your missionaries are in the process of earning such an experience. Thank you for your faith, prayers, and encouragement. Have a great Mother’s Day.

Last week we held Zone Conferences in the Stillwater, Oklahoma City, and Lawton zones. We practiced getting better at teaching the second lesson, “The Plan of Salvation.” This was another exercise of drawing names out of the hat and giving them the topic to teach. It is quite a miracle in itself that they can do this. I have so much admiration for them. If you ever want an exercise, try teaching the entire plan of salvation. It would make a great home evening lesson. It would also show the challenge of articulating the doctrine. We also studied the Pre-Mortal Existence along with various other things.

I have mentioned before that I ask the missionaries to send me their little daily miracles. President Gee also invites recent converts to share their testimony and their conversion story. I will share a couple of examples: The first is from a twelve-year-old girl who was just baptized.

“The reason I joined the Chruch is because I know the church is true and I think that if you feel comfortable somewhere and you believe the same thing that what your church tells you, then you should not be scared of what other people tell you and that is why I chose to get baptized at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I felt like I was as clean as I have ever been when I got baptized. I felt like I was the only person on earth at that second. I felt like I was the only one and God was holding me and telling me that he loved me and that I wouldn’t have to worry; that he would always be there. I would never have to worry about being alone. That is what I also loved about reading the Book of Mormon. It taught me so much and I believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and well he is just awesome. That’s how I feel. Sincerely, Chelsey”

“Our new investigator is Angelia. She’s a single mom and she has been waiting to know what God wants her to do. Then we knocked on her door–twice! The first knock, she said she wasn’t interested. Then we talked to a guy in the parking lot. Going back to our tracting we accidently knocked on her door again, but this time she asked for a Book of Mormon, and we made an appointment. She says that the Holy Spirit told us to knock again. Tell Sister Gee that God works miracles, even through stupidity. Oh, and she came to church and hopefully we’ll start teaching her daughter this week. Sister Goodell”

This is just a taste of what your missionaries are doing. The weather is near perfect. The Elders are in their shirt-sleeves. The redbuds are blooming everywhere. The redbud is the state tree and since I love magenta I think they are gorgeous. Flowers are blooming. Spring has sprung. We all wish it could stay like this for a few months. Have a great week.

Conference was wonderful as you know. Here in Oklahoma City it was 84 degrees. The wind came sweeping down the plain with a bit too much enthusiasm but we had a nice Easter weekend. We have had a chance to visit with a few of the missionaries who all agreed that they loved conference. It is like the Balm of Gilead to these missionaries to go into the security of the churches and just sit at the feet of apostles and prophets and soak in the Spirit. Okay, it is possible that now and then someone nodded off for a while but they can read the messages later. The music was heavenly. When we first arrived here almost three years ago I greatly missed the easy contact with the influence of the church. Sometimes I felt like I was “wandering to and fro to seek the word of the Lord” if you know what I mean. Lately the Cox Network has included BYU Television on their listings so it makes it easier for members to tune in when they want to.

A while ago President Gee and I were traveling to Alva, Oklahoma and I was thinking about what I might tell you. I started carefully watching the landscape and made a few notes to pass along to you. I would bet not many missionaries tell you about the details here. I hope this will create a picture in your minds.

The leaves were not on the trees yet. The skeletons of the trees were all that were showing. They are strange looking trees but there are thousands and thousands of them. They are squaty trees that look gnarled, tangled, cluttered and messy. There is so much undergrowth that it almost looks trashy. However, by now the leaves are coming out full force and in a few more days there will be a wall of thick and lush green. We saw watery chocolate ponds all over the place. Most of them are man-made. The dirt here is red. It is really quite pretty but it makes the water look contaminated. There were many fields of brilliant green fall wheat. Herds of Black Angus, and Charolais, populate those fields. Sometimes there are Red Angus as well. Once in a while there are Texas Longhorns who carry their heavy burdens on their heads. There are also many herds of horses. The homes are mostly brick and there are many red barns. The homes seem to be about 30 to 40 years old. They are substantial and well kept. A ride through the countryside is really picturesque. Flags fly briskly, often straight out.

The highways and the medians are wide and the grass on the outsides and the medians is mowed and manicured. In the summer we often wonder if they mow the whole state. Eventually the trees thin out and leave massive fields with only a lonely tree now and then to dot the horizon. Sometimes the only thing that adds variety are the telephone lines. We even discovered there are some Great Salt Plains that are as white as snow. We have loved going in any direction all over the mission. We find every variety of landscape interesting and beautiful. However, we along with everyone else who grew up around mountains really miss them. I finally figured out the way to be happy is to enjoy what you have and try not to compare it with what you left behind.

Well, I guess that is enough of the travel-log. We hope all is well with you and that you have a good week.

About

Elder Peper is currently serving a two-year mission (December 2009 – December 2011) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Oklahoma-Oklahoma City Mission. Elder Peper’s home ward is the Colville 1st Ward, Colville, Washington. His parents are posting the updates to this blog.